Outline plans for 110 homes in Pennington formally approved

Developers Bargate Homes and Vivid Homes are progressing the project for 110 homes on land south of the A337 Milford Road in Pennington.

Members of New Forest District Council’s planning committee granted the overall principle of the scheme at a meeting in May last year despite concerns about traffic and access.

Now local authority officers have formally approved the outline application after the developers entered a legal agreement.

This included a commitment that 50 per cent of the homes on the 15.8-acre site would be affordable housing.

Bargate Homes is now working on a reserved matters application for the properties, which range from one to four-bed homes.

Mark White, managing director of Bargate Homes, said he was pleased to have secured outline permission for the “prime site”.

“The New Forest is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, but with plenty of amenities located nearby in both New Milton and Lymington, so energy-efficient homes in this location will appeal to a cross section of people,” Mr White said.

“We are looking forward to continue working with New Forest District Council and wider stakeholders as the detailed plans for this exciting scheme progress.”

The application site on land south of the A337 Milford Road (Image: Bargate Homes)

The developer has said 63 per cent of the site will be dedicated to preserved habitat and public open space, with the scheme delivering a 10 per cent biodiversity net gain.

Lymington and Pennington Town Council had recommended refusal before the outline application went to the district council’s planning committee last year.

While town councillors supported the scheme in principle, they had concerns over the proposed access point from the A337, which was near the Milford Road turning that runs down to Efford Waste and Recycling Centre.

Planning officers recommended that committee members grant the application, noting that it met the three key objectives of sustainable development.